Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Presto Pesto!

Last year was the first time I'd ever tasted fresh pesto. I think I had it once before on our honeymoon while in Venice, but it was putrid to say the least. I've steered clear of it since. However, a coworker last year asked for some of my basil to make pesto and gave me some of the finished product. If you remember, I had to enter a 12 step program after I was spotted eating it straight out of the container.

This year I planted..ok...overplanted...basil so I could make my own. I've pulled leaves off occasionally, but it was time for a major haircut.
That's a pretty large bowl full of basil leaves. So, I found I had enough to make three batches of the recipe, but since I don't have a food processor, I used the blender. Should have thought about that when I was making the hummus the other night.


It turned a lovely green.



I chose to fill baggies with just enough for a meal. Flattened like they are, the baggies will take up little to no room.


I sent my neighbor home with two bags and used one for our dinner tonight.


I topped it with slices from our next ripe brandywine. I tell you, there's just something different about that tomato. It's very sweet and not mealy at all. Very distinctive.




The girl and I tie-dyed with her school today. One of her teachers lives next door to the school. She and her husband have an amazing piece of property where they basically farm. I can't even begin to tell you how far this property goes and all of the gardens they have. Each time you think you're done, the tractor will pull over the next rise and there's another few acers planted. He asked me if I wanted a few peppers, hopped on that tractor and was gone for quite a while. He came back with a sack full of peppers and a cabbage head large enough to feed the neighborhood. We're going back on Friday and I'm hoping he'll let me take some pictures.


The morning comes early. Sweet pesto lovin' dreams.

9 comments:

  1. So....do you have a special recipe for the pesto? Or will any old Googled pesto recipe do? Not that I planted too much basil, or anything like that. Not me.

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  2. Lovely pesto! I store mine in the freezer in flat ziplock bags too. It is easy to break off a piece and thaw it if you only need a little pesto.

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  3. Pesto looks really good. My basil is still just little babies. The weather is warming up next week so I hope they will pickup some growth speed. But for now Mother Nature is giving the garden a good watering. A nice treat for those of us in sunny CA.
    So what do you put in your pesto?

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  4. My thoughts exactly, GM.

    Granny - easy-peasy, my friend:
    2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves
    3/4 cup grated parm (I used the kind in a can, not the fancy stuff)
    3/4 cup olive or vegetable oil (I used olive, perhaps not as much as they say. Use less and add more if too dry)
    3 cloves garlic
    1/4 cup pine nuts

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  5. Thanks for reminding me to do some pesto! With all the other perils in the garden this year, I forgot all about the fact that my basil is thriving - I better get at that pronto! I can smell your pesto from here, yum!

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  6. Thank you! I might try it if I happen to have a little bit of basil. If I just happened to over plant...I already said that, didn't I.

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  7. That pesto looks fantastic!

    I hope you are able to take pictures of the farm, it sounds beautiful.

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  8. I can't wait for my basil to get big enough to pick instead of just pinch out to make it bushier.

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